Restricted products

Throughout Amazon`s existence, the platform has developed its own Policies, Warnings, and other terms of use. As the main goal is a positive customer experience, Amazon developed many restrictions for sellers and one of them is a list of products that cannot be listed and sold.

Before going through a list of restricted products, there are several rules about unacceptable conditions for listing on Amazon:

• Item does not work perfectly in every regard.
• Item is not clean, including signs of mold, heavy staining, or corrosion.
• Item is damaged in a way that renders it difficult to use.
• Item is missing essential accompanying material or parts. (This does not necessarily include instructions.)
• Item requires repair or service.
• Item was not created by the original manufacturer or copyright holder. This includes copies, counterfeits, replicas, and imitations.
• Item was originally distributed as a promotional copy, promotional bundle, product sample, or advance reading copy. This includes uncorrected proofs of in-print or not-yet-published books.
• Any aspect of the item is obscured and cannot be read or viewed because of markings, stickers, or other damage.
• Item is prohibited for sale on Amazon.com.

As you can see these rules are clear and understandable. So let’s dive into the restricted section.

Customers` trust in Amazon is built in their confidence in the items they buy on Amazon. That is why products offered for sale on the platform must comply with all the laws and regulations and with Amazon’s policies. The sale of illegal, unsafe, or other restricted products listed on these pages, including products available only by prescription, is strictly prohibited.

It is highly recommended to go through the “Examples of Permitted and Prohibited Listings” (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/200164330) sections before listing a product. Why? Because if you sell a Restricted Product, Amazon may immediately suspend or terminate your selling privileges and destroy inventory in their fulfillment centers without reimbursement. In addition, if they determine that a seller’s account has been used to engage in illegal activity, payments may be withheld. The sale of illegal or unsafe products can also lead to legal action, including civil and criminal penalties.

Therefore, there is a long list of restricted products and we won’t go through all of them, but look through the most common or important products to be restricted.

1. Pesticides and Pesticide Devices

In the United States, pesticides and pesticide devices must comply with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) and applicable state and local laws, including registration and labeling requirements. Pesticides and pesticide devices include any product intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest and any product that makes any antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-mold, or pesticide claim.

Common examples of conventional pesticides include:

• Insecticides
• Rodenticides
• Herbicides
• Fungicides
• Repellants
• Antimicrobial pesticides

Common examples of pesticide devices include:

• Ultraviolet Light Units
• Sound Generators
• Insect Traps
• Ground Vibrators
• Water Treatment Units
• Air Treatment Units

It is important to understand that your products may not include any pesticides or may not be pesticide devices. However, your listings might include pesticide claims which means they might include words like ‘antibacterial’, ‘disinfect’, ‘remove allergens’, ‘safe’, ‘harmless’, ‘all-natural’ etc.

2. Lock Picking & Theft Devices

It is strictly prohibited to sell any items that can be described as lock picking or theft devices, including:

• Devices designed to duplicate a key
• Shoplifting devices, including sensormatic detachers
• Card skimming devices
• Code grabbing devices
• Master keys or skeleton keys
• Lock picking or locksmithing devices, such as autolock bypass keys or jigglers, Lock picking sets, etc

The only exception is blank keys as they are allowed to sell.

3. Laser products

Products that incorporate a laser is strictly regulated by Amazon, here is a list of restricted laser products:

• Laser pointers are generally not allowed on Amazon. These products are typically a pen-shaped pointing device (usually powered by a battery) that contains a small diode laser that emits an intense beam of light.
• Amazon does not allow children’s toys that incorporate lasers if they exceed hazard class I.

Other products need permission from Amazon to sell, but overall you cannot sell laser products that are not approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory (NRTL) that shows evidence that your product was tested and documentation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accession number.

4. Offensive and Controversial Materials

It is not allowed to use any offensive and controversial materials on the Amazon platform. This policy is made to ensure a welcoming environment for global customers and sellers promoting trust and respect as well as adherence to the law.

So what products are considered to be offensive?

• Violence, Intolerance, and Hate
  • Products that contain violent or offensive material that has no historical significance. Amazon reserves the right to make a determination on the historical value of the item.
  • Products that promote, incite, or glorify hate or violence towards any person or group. This includes products that contain violent or offensive material that has no historical significance. Amazon reserves the right to make a determination on the historical value of the item.
  • Products that promote or glorify suicide
  • Products related to terrorist organizations
  • Products that promote or glorify people that have been found guilty of violent or sexual crimes.
• Intolerance
  • Products that promote intolerance based on race, religion, and sexual orientation.
  • Products that contain racially derogatory language
• Human Tragedies and Disasters
  • Products related to human tragedies and natural disasters
• Child Abuse and Exploitation
  • Products that depict child abuse/exploitation
  • Products intended for use by children that contains adult content, profanity, and/or sexual references
  • Products depicting children or characters resembling children in a sexually suggestive manner
  • Products marketed to or targeted at kids or teenagers that are age-inappropriate

5. Human Parts & Burial Artifacts

It is prohibitive to sell human parts such as blood, organs, sperm, etc.: human remains, human waste, and bodily fluids: historical grave markers or tombstones: Native American burial items: artifacts removed from Native American land, federal or state land, or a battlefield site.

6. Explosives, Weapons, and Related Items

All products are regulated by the same rule: ‘You must comply with all applicable federal laws when selling weapons, imitation weapons, and weapon accessories. You must also comply with state and local laws applicable to the jurisdiction into which your products are sold, as well as the jurisdiction from which you ship.’

• Ammunition
  • Amazon prohibits the listing or sale of firearm ammunition and ammunition components for assault weapons, black powder guns, handguns, muzzleloaders, pistols, shotguns, and rifles, such as slugs, black powder, bullet tips, smokeless powder, etc.
• Explosives
  • Amazon prohibits the listing or sale of explosive devices and products that contain explosive materials, such as fireworks, grenades, flare guns, mines, etc.
• Firearms
  • Amazon prohibits the listing or sale of all firearms, including assault weapons, black powder guns, handguns, muzzleloaders, shotguns, rifles, and starter guns, such as 3D printed guns, electronic guns, toys, imitation, or “look-alike” firearms, etc.
• Firearm accessories
  • Amazon prohibits the listing or sale of a certain firearm and imitation firearm accessories, such as assault weapon and AR-specific tools, auto sears, gas blocks, gas tubes, and gas pistons, trigger activators, etc.
• Knives and other bladed products
  • Amazon policy prohibits the listing or sale of certain knives, including switchblades, balisongs, stilettos, and some blades designed to look like harmless items, such as switchblade knives, butterfly knives, pilum ballistic knives, throwing stars, etc.
• Other connected products:
  • Amazon prohibits the listing or sale of blunt force striking weapons, body armor, body armor plates, and other dangerous weapons or items that can be used as dangerous weapons.

7. Hazardous and Dangerous Items

This section has got a lot of items included, but we will tell you about the most mistakenly used ones:

• Products that do not comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act
• Sky lanterns or floating lanterns
• Any chemical substance or compound that is intended for commercial, industrial, or professional use only and is not available for general consumer purchase
• Face masks intended for use by infants
• Military-style gas masks and their filters
• Products contaminated by radiation
• Thermometers contained mercury
• Mercury-added consumer novelty products such as toys, games, cards, jewelry, apparel, and footwear
• Toy crossbows that have the capability of shooting small, sharp projectiles
• Vehicle airbags and airbag covers

8. Lightning

You cannot sell exact lightning on the Amazon platform: light bulbs and other lamps that violate applicable energy efficiency standards; adapters or converters designed to allow an incandescent lamp or lightbulb that does not have a medium screw base to be installed into a fixture or lamp holder with a medium screw base socket that is capable of being operated at a voltage within 110 and 130 volts

9. Tobacco & Tobacco-Related Products

Due to Amazon`s policy you cannot sell:

• Tobacco or any product that contains tobacco, such as cigars, dipping tobacco, cigarettes, etc.
• Electronic cigarettes and related products (regardless of whether they contain nicotine) including E-Hookahs, electronic pipes, electronic cigars, vaporizers, etc.
• Nicotine inhalers or nasal sprays
• Smoking cessation products that have not been approved for sale in the US, such as Tabex
• Smokeless tobacco products such as snus, wad, chewing tobacco, etc.
• Products, including without limitation, hats, t-shirts, and lighters, with a cigarette or smokeless tobacco brands or logos
• Drug paraphernalia

10. Drugs & drug paraphernalia

There is a Compliance Checklist for Drugs & Drug Paraphernalia to control this kind of product and also a list of known prohibited products, such as codeine, DMT, kanna, jimson weed, wild dagga, etc. If you are interesting in selling this kind of products, it is better to learn this page: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/help.html?itemID=200164490&language=en_US&ref=efph_200164490_cont_200164330. Also, LegitScript has a searchable database that may help when determining if a supplement includes a prohibited ingredient: https://www.legitscript.com/

That is not a full list of prohibited products, so as a seller, you should know what you could work with. You can find it here: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/200164330